Today (May 24th) is National Brother’s Day! A day to celebrate your parents making a mistake or giving it another try (however you explain your sibling). So to everyone who was picked on by a big brother, or was annoyed by a little brother, or both, Happy National Brother’s Day!

According to National Day Calendar, not only is today National Brother’s Day, but it is also National Yucatan Shrimp Day, which is ironic because my brother used to call me “shrimp” until I got big enough to WWE “Rock Bottom” him on our kitchen floor, leaving him laid out for the rest of the evening! Man, my dad was mad, impressed, but mad! Don’t worry; my brother got back at me by picking me up and dropping me on my knee, causing me to limp for over a week.

That’s just what brothers do; they rough house! It’s in our nature! Let’s face it; your brother is your first best friend, and for some, and for a time, your first enemy! My brother and I would tattle on each other; he’d hit me, and I’d grab my Masters of the Universe He-Man power sword and beat the crap out of him! Remember, back in the early 80s, those toys were made of hard plastic, so when my brother heard me scream, “By the power of Greyskull,” he knew he’d have welts!

It’s so great, now that we’re both older. We know we’ll both hurt for weeks if we roughhouse! And we can talk for hours on end. Late last year, we had to make the sad drive to our cousin’s funeral. It would be the first time since our teens that we’d be stuck in a car for over 5 hours with each other. Luckily, the conversation stayed light-hearted, sharing memories and stories and being strong for each other as we went to say goodbye to one of our clan.

Timmy, Brenda (mom), Chris

Just this past weekend, my brother & I took another trip to visit another cousin and celebrate her wedding. It was great having my brother (who is 6 & half years older than me) ride shotgun for the whole trip.

Chris, Jeff (dad), Timmy

So as we may still prank each other and tattle to our dad occasionally, we have each other’s backs. I’m so very thankful for that. If you have a brother, I hope you can have that same growth in a relationship! If by chance you don’t have that shared feeling with a brother/sibling… try to create it, it might be rough, but it will be worth it!